Pages

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Bonjour Brando

Brando and friend

Young Françoise Sagan’s novel, “Bonjour Tristesse,” was an
international sensation in 1954 when she toured America. Friends wanted to
introduce her to French-speaking denizens of Hollywood, and two of those were MGM
producer John Houseman and his wife, Joan.

“We liked her and decided to combine our house-warming with
a party for her,” Houseman recalled. He asked Sagan whom she particularly
wanted to meet, and the 19-year-old novelist had only one request: Marlon
Brando.

For Houseman, who had cast Brando controversially and with
great success as Mark Antony in the film version of “Julius Caesar,” that was
no problem.

“Brando arrived early in a white shirt and neat dark-blue
suit — embarrassed that he did not possess a tie. Joan took him upstairs and
loaned him one of mine. He met Miss Sagan and they became friends, but he
bitterly disappointed those who had expected to encounter an American primitive
with bulging biceps and a torn t-shirt.

“Among those who telephoned the next morning was Salka
Viertel, who enjoyed the party but regretted that Marlon Brando had not shown
up. It was difficult to convince her that the quiet, civil, well-spoken,
intelligent and rather small young man in the blue suit with whom she had had
such an interesting conversation was none other than Stanley Kowalski.”

Subscribe To

About Dan Hagen

"This trenchant commentary, which makes the big syndicated "on-the-other-hand" columnists look like Goebel Gerbils, is why I still believe that real journalism gets done most often at the personal newspaper level. Thanks for sharing this. Dan follows one of journalism's proudest traditions!"
— Paul McMasters, the First Amendment ombudsman for the Freedom Forum, on Dan Hagen’s newspaper columns

Why Odin's ravens?

Perched on the shoulders of the Norse god Odin are the pet ravens Huginn and Muninn, whose names mean “Thought” and “Memory.” At Odin’s bidding, they fly across the face of the world and bring him knowledge. In the 13th century Poetic Edda, Odin reveals that he fears that they may not return from their daily flights. He has pampered his pets by rewarding them with the ability to speak, and it’s truth that they tell, even though the Raven is, of course, a Trickster.

Product Warning

"This article contains a significant amount of intelligence, analytic fact, common sense and eloquence. If you suffer from a 'freeze-dried' FOX News brain or enjoy a Rush Limbaugh lifestyle of blissful ignorance, avoid reading, as it may be hazardous to your health. A major side effect is thoughtful reflection." — Ian McDonald

Copyright

I love crows and ravens for their wisecracking voices and for that black-on-black gleam of sagacity in their eyes. They figure things out. They see us. They know us for what we are, which is why they keep a wary distance but remind us, with their taunts, that they are not overly impressed.